We’ve seen veteran quarterbacks, like Tony Romo, crack in big spots. We’ve seen established stars like Matt Ryan unable to break through in the playoffs.

Three of the four starting quarterbacks on Wild Card Sunday will be rookies—Luck leading the Colts into Baltimore against the Ravens, followed by Wilson vs. Griffin in the Rookie Bowl between the Seahawks and Redskins.

Can these rookies handle the heat? They always seem to.

Wilson was always the coolest guy in the room, according to his high school coach, Charlie McFall. At Collegiate School in Richmond, Va., Wilson led the Cougars to three state championships, but other things made McFall marvel. Like the way Wilson handled television interviews, even at age 15. Like the way classmates gravitated to Wilson, who was class president as a senior.

But what really floored McFall was the respect Wilson earned from opponents.

"We’ve got some pretty intense rivalries with some schools. I mean bitter rivalries," McFall said in a telephone interview. “But after games, I can’t tell you how many times I saw guys from other teams seek out Russell to shake his hand, or hug him. He earns the respect not only of teammates, but those he plays against. You just don’t normally see that, but that’s how people react to Russell.

"He’s got the confidence, he’s got the work ethic, he’s got the poise. It’s kind of like—how did one guy get all that?"

Seahawks coach Pete Carroll sensed those qualities in Wilson, surprising most by naming him the starter over high-priced free agent Matt Flynn before the season. Wilson fell to the third round of the draft, largely because many scouts believed he was too short at 5-11 to be an effective NFL starter.

Even in high school, Wilson knew his height would be an issue.

“He used to always ask me to list him as 6-foot on the roster," McFall said. “But he’s always been able to compensate. As Russell would say, he’s always been that short. He’s very gifted as far as quickness, speed, athleticism. He has great hands, big hands and a high release. Even 6-foot-3 quarterbacks have trouble throwing over 6-8 guys. You find your passing lanes. That’s what Russell does. He makes plays. He wins.”

The poise of Griffin and Luck is also striking. Rookies are supposed to make rookie mistakes, but Griffin threw just five interceptions, the fewest among quarterbacks with at least 220 attempts. To former NFL quarterback Rich Gannon, Griffin’s ability to avoid the big mistake is mind-boggling.

“Turnovers are magnified in the playoffs, but RG3 avoids them, and so does Wilson,” said Gannon, now an analyst with Sirius XM NFL Radio. “Typically with young quarterbacks, you’re going to see at least a half-dozen interceptions during the year where you say, 'Wow, that was really bad.’ You don’t see that with these guys—the late-down-the-middle interception, the Mark Sanchez interception … not seeing the field. They don’t lock in on receivers. They have a thorough conceptual understanding of football, what they’re doing, and how defenses are playing them.”

The big mistake will be something to watch with Luck, who threw 18 interceptions, topped only by Romo (19) and Drew Brees (19). However, Luck also makes the big play, throwing for 4,374 yards, the most ever by a rookie—and far more than Griffin (3,200) and Wilson (3,188).

With six fourth-quarter comeback victories, Luck has been tremendous in the clutch, and he won’t be afraid to test the Ravens’ secondary. Gannon does not expect playoff pressure to make Luck timid.

“Out of these three guys, the Colts ask Luck to do the most throwing downfield,” Gannon said. “That means he’ll have to watch out for (Ravens safety) Ed Reed in particular. He’s the guy that can bait you into mistakes.

“The Colts have a ton of rookies on offense, but they’re aggressive and that’s how (offensive coordinator) Bruce Arians calls games. He’ll look for big plays.”

Griffin, Luck and Wilson are leading three teams that didn’t make the playoffs in 2011. That makes their accomplishments even more impressive.

If someone had told Gannon in September that the Colts, Redskins and Seahawks would all make the playoffs, Gannon responded, “No way. I thought the best-case scenario for any of them was 8-8. You figured seven wins tops for the Colts, and going in, Washington looked like the worst team in the NFC East.”

Now Griffin, Luck and Wilson all have a chance to become the first rookie quarterback to start a Super Bowl. It has already been the season of the rookie quarterback. Now we’ll see which one handles postseason pressure the best.